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St James Schools Report August 1996
Page 1 of 46
Contents: 1. Introduction
2. The Background Founding principles. Founding sound. Development over the last 21 years.
3. The Market Aims. Image. Other contradictions. School for SES or school for all.
4. The Teachers Key issues.
1. Quality of teachers. Criteria for employment.
2. Definition of "need". Exploitation. Pensions.
3. SES priorities. Pressure.
4. Extra tuition. Community links. Preparation. Continuing professional development.
5. Incestuous relationships in SES. Lack of objective management.
5. The Academic standard The Junior School. The form teacher system.
The curriculum. Target intake. The hidden centre. The Senior schools.
6. The Governors and the SES Role and function. The SES connection.
Head teachers allegiances. St. James as SES surrogate. Use of prerogative power. The
Foundation Ceremony.
7. Finance and Management Financial background. Current losses. Free fee myth. Financial implications. Management
options. Fundraising/visions and ideas.
8. Conclusions and Recommendations
Page 2 of 46
9. Appendices. 1. Summary of perceived strengths and weaknesses of St. James requested by W.
Salisbury when starting the fundraising in November 1993
2. Transcript of two letters to the Chairman of the Governors in connection with the
appointment of the headmistress in February1995
3. Transcript of memorandum to the Governors in relation to the proposal for "free fees" in
February 1996
4. Selection of Internet items relating to books and to typical errors of interpretation of the
teaching by individual members of spiritual organisations
5. The "ideal" St. James product
Page 3 of 46
1. Introduction This report aims to examine in a general way what appear to be some of the obstacles preventing
St. James having a wider appeal beyond the confines of the SES and out into the community. It
also seeks to examine the broad management implications of keeping the operation as an SES
controlled special school. It is based on some interviews and visits to all the schools but is not
intended to be an exhaustive or detailed appraisal. Hopefully, it highlights some of the major
areas of difficulty which can be tackled in more depth in the near future.
Everyone has pet diagnoses and cures for overcoming the problems facing the organisations
they manage. All that can be done here is to voice those which are considered to be key, in the
full knowledge that they are unlikely to correspond with anyone else’s and therefore are likely to
be ignored. That may not matter. What is certain is that unless the right ones are adopted fast the
whole operation will come to a grinding halt.
My only credentials are that I have been a governor of the schools for about a decade and have
sent five children there for a total of about two hundred terms of education over the past two
decades.
Page 4 of 46
2. Background
Founding principles.
The founding principles were set down by L. MacLaren as follows:
The principles to be applied are:
a) To give children information of:
(1) the simple principles of spiritual knowledge,
(2) knowledge of the universe
(3) man
(4) and the individual’s relation thereto. In the belief that the child really knows, and, if the
information is given simply and accurately enough, it will connect with that inner
knowledge and make it available to the child.
b) To remind the child of the threefold human duty
(1) to rember (sic) the creator
(2) to live according to the fine regulations of the universe
(3) to find the way back to God.
c) to give disciplined practice in spiritual, mental and physical fields, including training in
appropriate skills.
Founding sound
In order to examine the question of St. James and where it is or should be going we must look
at the sound from which it all arose.
It sprang from the desire by some SES parents to give their children a better education than was
generally available in the state system together with the opportunity to hearing the philosophy
teaching that they were receiving themselves. Other parents then wanted their older children to
benefit from this and requested the setting up of a secondary branch (St. Vedast).
When consulted Mr. MacLaren stated that the parents concerned would have to underwrite the
Page 5 of 46
cost and a fund was duly set up which ran for a few years. As the operation grew this fund was
not maintained.
Development over the first 21 years.
It started with four girls at Waterperry taught one subject per day by voluntary teachers.
At that time the SES had several hundred in Part 1, 600 in Middle School and a steady supply of
lusty breeding parents to keep the pupil numbers swelling and support the day schools
financially. The St. James and St. Vedast operation all appeared very successful and ever
expanding. Ten years after its foundation Samashti shot across the bows with the Secret Cult
book. The fallout of ordinary white middle class parents was rapid. The impact of this fallout on
the income of the schools was disguised by the rise in the Indian community's adherence to the
schools at the behest of their Guru and by the closure of the heavily loss-making St. Vedast
operation. The early growth was halted but not reversed.
St. James did little to re-market itself to the white middle class academically ambitious defectors
who are the financial backbone of all the private fee-paying London schools. In some ways there
was a helplessness as to what to do other than hope the bad publicity would all eventually be
forgotten. Gradually St. James has managed to get some good publicity to sit alongside the bad
in the medias' files. The SES however has not. Since the shot from Samashti in 1984 there has
been nothing significant added to the SES press files to counteract the original Secret Cult and
Evening Standard press.
St. James remained more or less solvent through the Thatcher boom years thanks to the feel-
good factor that reached even the notoriously impoverished SES members and the Indian
community support. An intake of 50 pupils a year in the junior school made sure of a substantial
profit which could be ploughed into the senior schools (which have always made a loss).
According to Paul Moss the current forecast intake of pupils from SES and Indian families to the
junior school is 16 per year until 2001 as against approx. 36-38 per year in the early 90's. The
"non-SES I Indian" element has stayed constant at around 12-14 per year.
Page 6 of 46
3. The Market
Aims
The founding principles set out in the previous section are of a breadth and generality that
ensures their lasting validity and relevance to virtually any age and location. Few other than
committed atheists would argue with them.
In the document commemorating the life of the author of those principles was written: "The first
pupils were drawn from the families of the School of Economic Science; but St. James was
designed for everybody. It is open to children of all races and all creeds. It also has to obtain the
approval of the world, which demands inspection, accreditation, examination results and
university entrance. The success achieved so far, without compromising the revolutionary ideas
which formed it, is a tribute to the insight of its founder.” It concludes, somewhat defensively, with
the statement: “The intention is to hold onto the principles and not be diverted from them.”
These are fine sentiments and general aims, shared by most schools in the country. The
"approval of the world" is an interesting phrase in the context of this report. Clearly the world does
not approve at present. It is no longer overtly hostile but it certainly is not beating the door down!
L. MacLaren told the heads and governors some years ago to remove the question mark over the
day schools. The key questions are: what are the question marks and how are they to be
removed?
Image
People in the SES and St. James are often scornful of the notion of "image". It implies something
produced by "dreams", opposed to the "Reality of the Self", insubstantial, trivial, not to be given
the time of day, the product of imagination. Indeed, as with the whole of the rest of creation, it is
the product of imagination. The present image is the principal reason St. James is not attracting
enough pupils. Imagination runs the world and St. James must tune into it fully if it wants to
survive in that world.
Leon MacLaren maintained that if the SES ladies all wore long skirts at all times the world
would follow. Twenty-five years later we need to consider whether that is true. Are we actually
confident that this is an equally valid approach with educational fashion? That Sankrita is the
Page 7 of 46
"long skirt" of primary school education?
If we are and the idea is that "we (St. James) have got it right and they (everyone else) have to
come round to our point of view" then we shall need a lot of capital to finance the interim
period while "they" get round to it. (I would estimate at least £10M to allow the schools to run as
they are without any expansion in facilities).
It is observable that what are absolute and cherished "principles" for some teachers are not for
others. This calls into question what is a true principle and what is simply prejudice or reference
masquerading as principle.
If the schools really have "come of age" as stated in the advertisement sent to all local
newspapers in the Twickenham area then it is time to re-examine whether there is a genuine will
to make this “revolutionary” teaching available to a wider public. If the schools, the governors and
head-teachers are truly interested in a wider audience then a rigorous process of self-
examination is very much overdue to weed out the accretions of rules and prejudices which have
grown up around the simple fundamental principles set out in Section 2 above. The schools are
choked by a collection of unsaleable practices which do not stand up to rational examination.
A simple example will suffice: the previous headmistress was among the first ladies in the SES to
don the long skirt when the edict was issued by L. MacLaren in 1971. Today the senior girls are
no longer in uniform and, on outward bound week-ends, are reportedly wearing slacks! Is the
education the worse for it? At the same time the previous headmistress is touring the world
lecturing on the "St. James system" as emanating from London. No doubt the long skirt features
prominently as an essential “principle” of a St James education.
This is a simple but, in "image" terms, catastrophic example of the kind of muddle that pervades
a lot of the St. James operation. Nothing marks the schools out as odd or cultish more than the
long skirt system. When you read this report St. James Senior Boys will be a few days away from
opening in Twickenham. With the move from Victoria St. James are trading the anonymity of
central London for the heart of a very image conscious and switched on middle class white
community. Just the kind of people who left St. James in 1984/85.
If the mothers and sisters of prospective boys at St. Catherines' girls school opposite see
massed ranks of "long skirts" collecting the boys from "the new school across the road" it will be
around the dinner tables of Twickenham before you can say "Dvaita".
Page 8 of 46
Suddenly the locals will dig out the advert or a prospectus and look up School of Economic
Science on the Internet. The overall effect will be seriously undermine the appeal of the schools
in the community. If the schools intend to appeal to a wider audience I suggest an immediate
edict is called for banning the wearing of long skirts when attending the Twickenham premises
(and, preferably, altogether).
Appendix 4 consists of a series of extracts from a few of the items that can be found on the
Internet under "cults" and some of the very telling and recognisable warnings as to errors
perpetrated by individuals' misunderstandings of the profound teachings imparted by some
spiritual movements including the SES. It is the claim to supposed truth and principles contained
in those individual misunderstandings that bring those miraculous teachings into disrepute.
Presumably the Mayas' way of ensuring that not too many people wake up and spoil the play!
Other Contradictions
Other ambiguities and muddled thinking which affect the image of the schools in the world
surround the teaching of modern languages, Latin and Sanskrit in the boys' secondary school
(which have gone in and out of the curriculum like yo-yos'), the very limited (but continued) use of
the cane, the criteria for the appointment of teachers, the links with the SES generally and the
SES controlled "foundation ceremony" in particular. These and other contradictions are
addressed in more detail elsewhere in this report.
Mr.Plevey, the immensely successful fundraising consultant working with W. Salisbury at
Emmanuel College Cambridge, advised St . James that "transparency" of organisation and
perceived clarity of aims are the key prerequisites of public acceptance and successful
fundraising. The St. James set-up is, as yet, far from transparent.
School for SES members or School for all.
None of the above matters much if the schools arc intended primarily for "SES families". In that
case St. James can afford to ignore the community it finds itself in and revert to being a specialist
school similar to that from which it started 21 years ago. This is a perfectly tenable, if introverted,
aim for an educational establishment. However, no one I have spoken to seems to think this is a
worthwhile objective. Everyone wants to go for growth.
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This really is the key issue at the heart of the difficulties facing the schools today. Is it really still a
school for the "SES families", controlled by the SES, and sparingly admitting those few outsiders
who, for whatever reason, want their children to enrol, or is it resolved to become a school for all,
unusual but academically strong, professionally run and truly independent?
The St. James / SES governing hierarchy has consistently attempted to be both. To have control
of the spiritual cake and eat it. To be both open and secret, Christians and Hindus, Elitists and
Advaitins. As a result, not really having a clear and rationally unassailable set of principles,
change in response to outside pressures has been slow and reluctant as if, in an imaginary
battle, a valiant rearguard action is being fought against the Forces of Darkness. They inch us
back .. but only slowIy ..... We are so busy with the good fight we have not noticed that our supply
lines are being cut and the Gurkhas are deserting to Neasden!
We must decide who we want to market ourselves to and then go for it systematically,
professionally and fearlessly. The procrastination compromise and contradictory objectives of the
past few years has resulted in the situation we find ourselves in.
Page 10 of 46
4. The teachers.
In relation to the schools' broader appeal to the community, their academic standard and their
economic survival there are a number of key issues with regard to the teaching staff:
Issue 1.
The presumption that attendance at SES makes you a competent teacher or that it will soon do
so and that non-attendance disbars you from teaching at St. James.
Issue 2.
The principle that teachers are looked after according to their needs and what this means in
practice.
Issue 3.
The assumption by many teachers that SES duties take precedence over teaching
responsibilities at all times.
Issue 4.
The degree that teachers are occupied in SES duties of one kind or another which prevents
them
a) being available for supplementary tuition of weaker students,
b) being available to make connections in the local community, with "non-SES"
parents and functions.
c) completing marking on time and preparing lessons fully.
d) being able to attend Professional Development courses where they can keep up with
the latest issues in teaching and, most importantly, meet teachers from other schools.
Issue 5.
The incestuous and binding nature of the working relationships.
Issue 6.
As for issue 5. above but in the relation between the governors and the staff (including the
heads).
Page 11 of 46
Taking the points in turn:
Issue 1.
The simple fact is that, as with Architects, Doctors, Artists and Lawyers “in the school”,
attendance at groups and other activities is no guarantee of excellence or even basic
competence. Doubly so in teaching where no formal training in a particular teaching method is
required to be a teacher at St. James. The result is an extraordinary hotchpotch of abilities and
approaches. Many Junior school teachers attempt to reinvent the educational wheel. Their
abilities vary, according to Paul Moss from "brilliant to appalling". This is of particular concern in
the present St. James set-up where the form teacher is the same for the pupils' whole Junior
School career.
Often glaring lacunae in teaching skills are overlooked because there is no alternative SES
teacher in that subject or no budget to attract someone better/more experienced. The overall
effect in the Junior School is of an erratic academic standard, with the Sanskrit teachers
regarding themselves as above the rest, a “kingdom within a kingdom" whilst the basic 3R's are
at the mercy of the form teachers abilities with no systematic syllabus and testing system
throughout the Junior school. Paul Moss also feels that necessary managerial change has often
been hampered by the SES /family considerations.
Attendance at SES groups as a valid and essential passport to teaching at St. James also needs
examination.
Here are some hypothetical examples which need to be considered as part of an overall
policy:
a) A teacher of 54 who has been at SES for 30 years and taught at St. James for 15 years
and is an initiator "leaves" and goes to the SOM. Is he unfit to teach at St. James?
b) As above but goes to TM.
c) As above but does not join anything and continues to meditate.
d) Is a 34 year old professor of Sanskrit at SOAS, a brilliant teacher versed in Vedanta and
occasionally attends the Study Society both as a student and a lecturer. Is he barred?
e) As d) above but does not attend the Study Society.
3) Is a 38 year old homosexual with a pleasant smile who has attended SES unfailingly for
20 years, is erudite in the teaching and sleeps regularly during meditation. Is he
qualified?
It is quite easy to fall into the trap of thinking that SES attendance confers a level of inner
Page 12 of 46
development which other paths cannot provide. It would be desirable to examine whether this is
really so or whether it merely confers familiarity with a system of behaviour and knowledge of
the "Club rules" which the people in authority and their SES peers are comfortable with.
The key questions are: What makes any of the above examples possess or lack the necessary
qualifications? Who is to be the judge of that? Is attendance at SES a valid criterion? Is it to
remain a sword of Damocles over teachers whose whole career and childrens' education is made
dependent on their continued attendance at SES? Is this really conducive to freedom of thought,
speech and action or is it a subtle enslavement of the teachers? Is the parallel of a Jesuit school
requiring teachers to be Jesuit priests really valid? If so, does that mean Advaita is a religion? Is
this a sustainable position and, if so, are we prepared to argue it publicly? These questions must
be addressed as part of an overall review of all St. James practices.
Issue 2.
This is a major issue in relation to the teachers themselves. The principle of not paying for
knowledge but according to "need" has been so comprehensively abused that it is hard to know
where to begin. In order to make ends meet and charge the lowest possible fees the
interpretation of "Need" has stretched (downward) to the most incredible depths.
Some of the teachers are reportedly having to purchase suits from the Oxfam shop. When asked
4 years ago what providing a decent standard of living for the teachers meant in practice Mr.
MacLaren said "three Savile Row suits"! The sacrifices the teachers have made day in day out for
years make the gifts from a few rich individuals signing cheques at Chinese restaurants look as
nothing.
The “need principle" also leads to severe distortions when it comes to pensions. As time goes on
and we continue to operate the schools on a shoestring it is easy to push pensions into the
background.
The system in society presumes that older and more experienced teachers get paid more and
this then naturally feeds through to the pension entitlement.
At St. James the surest way to a salary rise is to get your wife pregnant (again!). It's the trump
card in the "need" stakes.
As you get older your "need" is deemed to diminish and you tend to get paid less. This then
Page 13 of 46
seriously affects your pension rights which are geared to final salary.
In a curious way, for an organisation which is markedly right of centre, the woolly and arbitrary
employee evaluation /performance I remuneration package is more reminiscent of the old style
Communist Russia than of a sophisticated entrepreneurial capitalist economy. The fundamental
injustice of this feature does not directly affect the appeal of the schools to the public at present
but is a time bomb waiting to go off with unforeseeable repercussions.
The other major issue, too complex to go into here but alluded to in Appendix 3 (The myth of
free fees), relates to the long-term relationship of teachers to the St. James organisation and the
question of housing and retirement provisions.
There is a need to review the whole set up of "need", salaries, retirement provisions, pensions
and accommodation in order to arrive at a true cost which accords with natural justice and then
set our budgets to match that.
Issue 3.
The simple fact is that in most schools of any academic standing the teachers are fully occupied
with their teaching duties during term time. St. James teachers have other commitments and
priorities.
For many teaching at St. James takes second place to SES duties. Teachers will miss an "A"
level lesson a few weeks before exams to go to Waterperry for the weekend. SES duties often
mean teachers such as ********* do not prepare their lessons fully and do not hand in the
marking when they would wish to.
Life during term time is described as having a sense of being "under enormous pressure". Like
****** and ******* before him I think he is heading for a breakdown. There are others. For a key
secondary school teacher to be a head of level or even a tutor must, to some extent, detract from
his ability to give the fullest service to his pupils during term-time. There is no spare teaching
capacity at all.
One teacher ill or away at SES in the senior boys school puts great pressure on all the others.
Some teachers have said the pressure is only relieved by attendance at SES where a modicum
of bliss and peace can be acquired. But this is a circular and artificial set-up where the SES is
both the cause and the solution.
Page 14 of 46
Issue 4.
a) The term time commitments to SES mean that teachers are rushing off at the end of school (or
busy marking). Many schools have significant allocations of extra-curricular time where teachers
are available for tuition of weaker students.
This is particularly helpful in raising the overall academic standard in a non-selective school
such as St. James.
b) This is related to issue 3 above but is particularly relevant to the Twickenham move. All major
schools in the UK make a big point of establishing links with the local community. Not just having
the odd concert or play but actually working with old people, in hospitals or performing some
other visible service to the community (and getting positive publicity for it). This needs organising
and also takes time.
c) The limitation of teaching staff and, in some cases, equipment available means, if anything,
that more time should be devoted to preparation, not less.
d) The idea is that SES can provide all the teaching skills and knowledge necessary. This may
well be so. The social aspect of these conferences should not be underestimated. There are
many head teachers who only know St. James as the cult school and warn parents off from any
involvement.
Issue 4 (continued)
This cannot be rectified without social contact, dialogue and example. Glossy brochures fool no-
one and are no substitute for putting in considerable time to make genuine contact with the
teaching community.
Issues 5 & 6.
The SES pecking order and social system makes it difficult to manage the schools independently
and professionally. Political SES considerations play as subtle undercurrents to relationships and
management decisions.
Page 15 of 46
A teacher in charge of management and performance standards may have another, potentially
incompetent, teacher as his SES "tutor” or fellow student and be reluctant to express an objective
view as this will be deemed "criticism".
Sanskrit teachers are described by the head of the junior school as considering themselves "a
kingdom within a kingdom”.
The SES connection gives access to a detailed knowledge of peoples' backgrounds and
relationships. Discussions, judgments and pronouncements by tutors and level heads about SES
students are a regular "behind the scenes” activity. This practice is time-honoured in SES and
considered absolutely normal.
Access to this knowledge about St. James staff, their families, wives, parents and in-laws is
unique to SES and colours and distorts judgments about teachers working situations. Teachers
who should have been asked to leave years ago are kept hanging far beyond a normal
employer/employee relationship solely because of extraneous SES considerations. One,
eventually fired last term, is now 40 and has very little possibility of starting a new career.
The schools need a full-time Managing Director to ensure effective staffing decisions are taken
as needed. The Governors/Board of Management do not perform this task.
Page 16 of 46
5. The Academic standard.
The Junior School
The Junior school is probably the key to the health of the whole operation. It has historically
been the source of the great majority of secondary pupils and also the major profit centre with
which the secondary operation has been subsidised. I have therefore concentrated principally
on the Junior school in this report.
The academic standard is important from two points of view. The quality of the actual education
received by the pupils and the perception of the world at large and prospective parents in
particular.
There is merit in offering an alternative to the treadmill of the hyper-academic prep schools.
Increasingly people are recognising the limitations of a purely academic approach. There do,
however, have to be certain measurable and externally recognised criteria which are set and met
consistently if the school is to attract the pupils it needs to flourish. No amount of sweetness and
light will substitute for shortcomings in the academic sphere.
The form teacher system.
At St. James a pupil has the same teacher for the whole junior school career. Around that teacher
are loosely appended a curriculum and syllabus. The standard of education is therefore highly
dependent on the personality, skill and academic calibre of the teacher. The overall standard is
not one of excellence. Paul Moss was not clear as to the origin of the concept of a form teacher
and whether it is an immutable principle of a “St. James education". In the case of the junior girls
the system hardly works anyway since many of the teachers are young wives who get pregnant
within a year or two of starting with a young form and cease teaching.
I recommend that the system be reviewed to ensure a consistent and rigorous standard is
achieved and maintained.
The curriculum. I understand there are no set reading schemes or tests for the senior part of the junior school.
The form teacher of a class of 8-year olds was recently absent from his class for a substantial
Page 17 of 46
part of one term putting on two school plays.
A parent stated: "At St. James there is little or no evidence of a systematic approach in English.
The senior end have no reading scheme and no grammar is explicitly taught. This lack is widely
recognised and of concern to parents but not the school.” I have not verified this but if it is only
half true it is a cause for concern.
Greek, long taught to St. James pupils from the age of 8 is now withdrawn. This is a great pity as
the ability of young minds to absorb vocabulary and grammar quickly and easily will be sorely
missed when they study it in the Senior School.
One (SES) parent wrote to his sons form teacher: "At what age can we expect our son to be
given proper games? At what age will they use sports clothing? Our 8-year old’s reading
throughout his time at St. James has been totally unsupervised. This term nobody has heard his
reading and no care has been taken by his teacher to even help him select suitable reading
material. How is the progress of their reading monitored and are they tested to ensure they are
progressing”.
The whole question of consistency should be looked at with fresh eyes as St. James junior
school does not have a particularly good academic reputation. Given the immense love and care
that goes into the operation that is surprising and perhaps not too difficult to rectify. A director of
studies, whose prime job is to ensure consistent academic performance and attainment is a key
function missing in the Junior school.
Target intake.
St. James Junior School, does not follow the national curriculum and does not systematically
address the core curriculum of english/maths/science and the tests thereon. This cannot be a
good selling point with parents.
Is it really impossible to reconcile the general expectations of the public with the St. James
approach? Is teaching Sanskrit really the ultimate goal? Does it take precedence over having a
healthy intake of pupils? Elsewhere reference is made to SES and Indian parents supplying
about 16 pupils per year until 2000.
A healthy target intake for the Junior schools is a 2-form entry of boys and girls totalling about 80-
Page 18 of 46
100 pupils. Currently the "non SES/Indian" community only sends about 12-14 pupils per annum
and has done for some time. Only a vital, consistent and appealing curriculum will increase that
number to 70 or 80. I am of the view that the prominence of Sanskrit, the form of the pause and
the "Hindu feel" are the major current reason why the number of "outsiders" has remained static
at between 10-15 per annum for some years.
The hidden centre. Another difficulty for "ordinary" parents is the division between the St. James system and the
normal school system of prep and junior schools. This gives prospective parents the impression
that they are being asked to commit to the “St. James education" for the duration of a child’s
school career. It probably is not so in practice but being perceived as such is too much for many.
It is a big gamble to take if you are a "normal" non-SES/Indian parent of a 4 year old. Most will
not risk it. Why should they if the school is not exceptional academically or in some other
perceived way?
The division has another, more sinister, aspect. In all schools or organisations generally, the
people who come into contact with it seek to know what is its' centre. "Non-SES” parents
perceive St. James school to have two centres. One appears to revolve round Paul Moss as
headmaster and the visible school set-up, the Queensgate premises, the teachers, the open
days, sports days and speech days.
They also perceive, according to Paul Moss, a second, hidden centre which is only known to the
SES-"in” crowd. This is especially observable on the pavement outside no. 90 every afternoon.
The SES mothers are all chummy and are in the know when it comes to things like who will be
Johnny’s form teacher when he goes to Senior school. The rest are excluded and, anyway, are
wearing a skirt of the wrong length.
This hidden centre is private to the "in” crowd and is a cause of division. Committed SES parents
do not socialise much with outsiders anyway as they are away at evening classes and week-
ends for much of the time.
The Senior Schools
Page 19 of 46
The senior schools appear to do fairly well academically considering the constraints under which
they have operated. However, they are certainly not exceptional. This year the boys are about
450th in the country in GCSE grades (approx. 20% "A" grades at GCSE). The Girls school
appears not to have been listed. There is probably a reason but it doesn’t look good. With a
different and more rigorous set up for the teachers I believe the schools could be much higher up
the national list. Like it or not, this rating is an important criterion for many prospective parents of
both senior and junior school entrants.
When one considers that St. James over five and a half days a week currently only has the same
number of academic lesson periods (36) as a five day week as St. Pauls, which, on average, has
much brighter pupils who learn more quickly (over 85% "A” grades at GCSE this year), it must be
possible to improve through more intensive and concentrated efforts on the part of both the boys
and the teachers. At a less academically oriented school such a Roedean (40% “A” grades at
GCSE this year) there are 39 academic periods per five day week and numerous (up to 16) free
periods for individual consultation I tutorials with teachers. Some of the pressures on the St.
James teachers which restrict their availability and are probably holding back the academic
performance are described in Section 4 of this report.
The senior girls school set up is curious. The headmistress (whose irregular appointment is
documented elsewhere) was supposed to have a Full-time Directrice of Studies alongside her. In
practice this has not happened. ********* and ********** are available to be consulted but it does
not feel like a humming, professional educational operation. The teacher list appears to be made
up of a large number of part-timers, perhaps for reasons of economy.
There is a highly structured reporting system which certainly gives the headmistress almost total
control of everything that goes on down to minute details. Yet two of the few first rate experienced
teachers in SES (***** ****** and ********* ******) don't teach at St. James.
Why not? Are they too expensive? Would they find the heavy-handed management style
unacceptable? Would they, by their qualifications and experience, pose a threat to the
headmistresses' control?
There are very positive moves taking place in relation to freeing up the whole set-up at the level
of uniforms and activities but, as with the Junior school, sweetness and light are not a substitute
for academic rigour.
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The academic side might be much improved by teachers having more time to teach, prepare
lessons and attend outside courses/conferences rather that the helter-skelter term-time scurrying
between home, SES and St. James.
The image of the school could be transformed by well publicised work in the local community.
Less tea and cakes with princesses, more work in old peoples homes and hospitals!
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6. The Governors and the SES
Role and function of Governors.
The Governors’ function at St James is dual. They are supposed to give a respectable front to
the whole set-up and to take responsibility for all legal and financial issues.
This they do. As front it makes the right noises, but it really is not hands on. Perhaps it is not
meant to be. Compared, for example, with the attendance at the Executive meetings of the SES
(10 meetings per year with non-attendance by any member very much the exception)
attendance at the four or five governors meetings per year is erratic and, in some cases, almost
non-existent.
There really is not a sense of an active, governing, policymaking body responsible for a £2m per
year business and the livelihood of 100 employees currently losing over £250,000 pa on the
operating side.
Perhaps the Board of Management is supposed to do this?
The SES connection.
The origin of St. James makes a close historical connection with the SES understandable.
However, perhaps the time has come to re-examine those ties.
Behind the governorial front are the hidden hands of the Board of Management and the leader of
the SES which perhaps are the real, “shadow” directors of the operation.
The head teachers allegiances.
The most notable instance of this concerned the appointment of Mrs. Hyde as headmistress. In
this regard I enclose, in Appendix 2, a transcript of the two letters written to you at the time of that
appointment.
You did reply to the first letter. I appreciate it did not raise an easy issue at the time and your
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reply studiously avoided the key question of the relationship of the SES leader to the St. James
operation raised in the last paragraph. However, it acknowledged a need for the appointment of a
full-time, academically strong, Directrice of studies.
This, as you know, never happened. I did not receive a reply to the second letter. It was formally
acknowledged at a subsequent Governors meeting that the process of appointment of Mrs Hyde
had been improper. I was given an undertaking that it would not recur.
I also discussed the matter briefly with Mr. Lambie at 83 Brook Green in May 1995. He stated
that he had left the matter of the Governors agreement to the appointment in the hands of
Richard Edmunds, Chairman of the Board of Management and that he had "arranged
everything".
He was asked why it was not left with you as Chairman of the Governors to call a meeting. I don't
recall the exact words of the reply but the tone of it was dismissive, as if the question was not
important.
He bolstered his reply with a statement that, in any event, the Heads of the St. James schools
"depend on his consent" for their continued tenure. If this is truly the case then we really have a
curious set-up where the unelected leader of an outside body with no legal ties to the I.E.A.L. has
full prerogative powers over the running of the day schools.
It also implies that the head teachers:
a) do not consider themselves accountable to the Governors (as in a normal school),
b) are not their own masters and mistress,
c) are constrained to refer all substantive issues to a third party not visible to the outside world
and
d) are mouthpieces for that third party.
St. James as SES surrogate.
Does this mean that, in reality, the way the St. James operation is run, it is a surrogate for the
SES, which really controls it? If the leader of the SES really has a unilateral right to regulate the
running of St. James without reference to the Governors then the schools can never be
'Independent' as their name holds them out to be.
This issue is at the heart of the St. James difficulties. I suggested it needed tackling 18 months
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ago and on some occasions even earlier than that.
It clearly is of concern to "non-SES" parents who perceive this other secret centre behind the St.
James school set-up. Perhaps it is only when the financial numbers get to the size they are now
that we reluctantly start to address these matters: I sincerely hope so.
Use of prerogative power
Other recent instances of the exercise of prerogative power behind the scenes include:
a) Unilaterally countermanding a request from the Governors to the heads to write their own
understanding of the St. James educational system. The Governors discovered, quite by
accident, some weeks later that the leader of the SES had blocked that instruction allegedly on
the grounds that L. MacLarens' definition was sufficient.
The purpose of asking the heads to articulate that understanding was, of course, for their own
instruction and for the Governors to get a sense of how the heads see the schools today in
relation to those founding principles.
b) Unilaterally blocking the continuation of a music group drawn from old boys and girls of St.
James and St. Vedast, which was to have performed Dido by Purcell and included two top flight
professional singers (ex St. Vedast) in principal roles.
This was prohibited by the leader of the SES on the grounds that "these people want to come and
get the goods without doing the work". What an incredible attitude to the very group that, in any
other educational establishment, is the lifeblood of donations, bequests and new pupils.
If one applies the rule that "one should not initiate contact with anyone who has left SES" and
St. James is a closet surrogate for SES then, of course, the prohibition is entirely consistent, but
I don't know, in that case, why we are planning for anything other than the small scale Special
SES school option mentioned in Section 7 of this report.
If I was an old boy of St. Vedast I wouldn't send my children to St. James if that is going to be the
response to the first contact for some years. I would certainly not feel that unity was a key
principle in the philosophy of the schools.
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The Foundation Ceremony
The original basis of the Foundation ceremony was inspired by the Christian confirmation
Ceremony. A simple personal statement of renewal of faith. When the set-up was a school for
children of SES families the Waterperry set-up was entirely appropriate. I suggest this is carefully
reconsidered.
The questions here are:
“Is this the only way the threefold bond can be retaken? Is Waterperry the only location?
Is the idea of secrecy borrowed (together with the ceremony itself) from the tradition of
meditation initiation?
Is this the necessary I immutable I appropriate form of words? Why is it linked to subsequent
attendance at SES? Is the philosophy taught at St. James not valid?
Why is it not an open family event at Twickenham or Chepstow and an integral part of the St.
James set up?"
Nowadays (or perhaps always) pupils who don't "go forward" to the foundation ceremony are
considered as lesser people. The headmaster of the Senior boys admits he rates boys according
to Foundation Group entry. A boy who does not take the ceremony and attend SES is likely to be
made head prefect, whatever other qualities he has.
The day schools are a highly prized source of SES students. There is immense pressure exerted
on pupils to go forward to the foundation ceremony. Behind that drive is the idea that: "If you don't
get them now then you never will. Yon have to rope them in now."
One boy recently asked the deputy head: “Will you think worse of me if I don't join?" Many boys
have spoken of the pressure they have been put under to comply. The fact he even thought that
is symptomatic of the way this simple ceremony has been made into a high pressure SES
recruitment vehicle.
Fear is frequently expressed even among Junior School parents that children will be "taken
away" by the SES. I suggest the key test is one of accountability. Is the form of the practice
transparent and justified in every respect'? If not, are those aspects that do not stand public
examination an integral part of a genuine commitment to the threefold bond or are they stylistic
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accretions which can be dispensed with?
Are we covertly trying to create a "new breed” of man under the noses of the community? Is
there the secret cherishing of an "ideal life” lived entirely in an SES envelope? Appendix 5
describes what that life might consist of.
Fully addressing the form of the Foundation ceremony is vital in the context of the Twickenham
move.
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7. Finance and management.
Financial background.
In the 22 years since its foundation St. James has gradually transmuted from a low key "home
tuition" set up for four girls taught on a voluntary' basis into a £2M a year business with over 100
staff and net assets of more than £3M. During this time the SES in central London has declined
as a source of "new blood" and become an ageing organisation made up predominantly of
grandparents rather than parents.
St. James has always tailored its fees to be the lowest that would balance the books rather than
the highest the market would bear. St. James has always appeared cheap compared to the best
of the rest. As a result it has never built up any reserves on the operating side.
Current losses.
Now the Indians are starting to go to their own school at the temple in Neasden (which we have
known for some years they eventually would). St. James is left with the staff for a school of 700
(of which approx 600 were paying) with current pupil numbers declining towards 500 (of which
380 paying). A decrease of approx. 36% in paying pupils. Losses for this academic year they are
forecast at between £80,000 and £100,000 per term or nearly £1000/day.
The “free fee” myth.
Towards the end of 1995 a dangerous, emotional and highly seductive idea about "free fees” for
all (which its proponents claimed was among Mr. MacLarens' last words and therefore beyond
discussion or rational analysis) emerged from some members of the now disbanded
Development Committee. It deeply divided the governors and head teachers. The debate
culminated in a fudged appeal last December for what was called the Vision fund. The proceeds
of which, it was announced, would be going towards reducing fees. It raised £30,000 (which
would run the schools "free" for one week!). The false rationale of this concept is now starkly
before us.
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Appendix 3 is the memorandum on the subject which was issued to the governors but never
formally discussed. This could form the basis of a just fee level based on true economic principles
but it requires a complete re-examination of accounting conventions. It would be an interesting
analysis.
Financial implications.
There are 3 options for a viable operation:
1. Retreat into a shell, reorganise the teaching system, reduce the staff by 40-50% and cater for
those who want St. James exactly as it is or,
2. Make ourselves more palatable to the world by a fundamental review of the accretions referred
to elsewhere in this report together with a rationalisation of the teaching set up or
3. Wait for the millionaire saviour who will endow the schools with so much money we can offer
everyone a free place and subsidise it forever.
Management options.
Option 1 would imply changes of the following kind:
1. "Village school" type classes with more than one year being taught at the same time in the
same room and/or mixed boys and girls classes in both senior and junior schools.
2. An immediate reduction in the number of teaching staff by about 30% (weeding out all the
doubtful teachers but concentrating mainly on the more junior and part-time elements to achieve
an immediate breakeven situation.
3. A further rationalisation of the remainder of the staff to put the schools into "profit" (as
measured currently) thus creating a surplus for proper living, medical and pension provision to be
made for the staff who remain.
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Option 2 would imply:
1. Mixed boys and girls in the junior school enabling this cost centre to rapidly become at least
self-financing, hopefully profitable. However, it is doubtful whether village style multi-year classes
would be acceptable as a teaching approach.
2. The complete review of all preferences and rules masquerading as principles and of all covert
links with a view to clearing the decks of all the debris and re-launching the schools in the
community.
3. A rigorous examination of the teaching standards, the curricula, the syllabi, with a view to
professionalising the whole operation into something that can consistently and reliably deliver
excellence (as measured by the world).
Option 3
David Boddy is working on it. But it is all a matter of timing. And in any event, what use a rich
school that reaches only a few? If it is to grow it will still need open up to the community and gain
the trust of society but undoubtedly it could do so more gradually if it was funded with £10-40M!
Fundraising: vision and ideas.
The Development committee was set up originally for the purpose of fundraising. Most of the
obstacles are referred to elsewhere in this report. The key issue being that of "transparency".
Some of the key ideas emerging from the Development committee itself are also beginning to
govern peoples' thinking especially elsewhere in the world.
The idea of "free fees" is one.
The idea of a world movement called the "Renaissance" or "Advaita" schools.
The idea of "Advaita" as a system or religion.
Views differ widely on the validity, usefulness or dangers of these ideas. I suspect none of them
are useful without the transparency referred to. If they are anything less than unassailably rational
and are simply devices to disguise the true picture of a surrogate youth movement for the SES
they can only have a negative effect.
What is of concern is the alacrity with which the "overseas" schools seem to latch onto these and
the raft of other ideas referred to in this report and put them into operation claiming the blessing
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and endorsement of the London school.
The SES "grapevine" is uncontrollable in this respect but the St. James "product quality control" is
not consistent enough to market it as a brand. London needs to fully sort out its own
inconsistencies before it sets out on a world crusade (If that is a useful objective)
Maybe there is a right-wing multimillionaire ready to put £50m St. James's way for a world moral
regeneration I Renaissance movement but is that really what Advaita and these schools are
about?
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8. Conclusions and recommendations My views have been asked on what is necessary for the successful continuation of the St. James
experiment in the light of the present financial crisis.
There is no doubt that, with the changing demography of the school population and the changing
demography of the SES population, radical and daring moves are needed. Some are hard
management/marketing decisions which cut across the pure “production” side of the business
(i.e. educating children). The decisions needed cut across many of the sacred cows that the
schools currently follow.
The schools were founded for the children of SES parents. Initially they were exclusively for them.
The form of practices developed was modelled closely on the form of the SES procedures.
The SES children are now a minority. The SES does not attract enough students with children to
supply St. James. It is also clear that St. James cannot survive financially on the present
numbers. It must therefore attract more pupils from “outside” and the SES children must become
an ever decreasing minority.
For this to happen the schools must have the courage to examine the whole raft of practices and
ways of thought and behaviour which have nothing to do with Advaita but have become fossilised
into the system and which make the schools unpalatable to the public at large.
The “Advaita” teaching is said to be what we teach. Yet the form in which we imagine we are
putting this teaching into practice continuously sets us apart from the society we are supposed to
atone with.
One senior student proclaimed at the time of the Secret Cult book that “the SES is obviously on
the right lines since Socrates also ran into opposition from his society”. Many people in senior
positions in the schools inwardly believe we are a latter day branch of the Moral Re-Armament
movement (though few would openly admit it ). For them moral and social reform and the
production of a new race of “leaders” is the goal
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We must have the courage to examine systematically each and every practice in the school and
ask:
Is this practice bringing about Advaita in our society now, today or is it some idea of Leon
MacLaren’s from his Presbyterian upbringing? or is it some teachers’ or SES parents’ (erroneous)
interpretation of “The Teaching” as it is loosely called in SES jargon? or is it merely an imitation of
a pre-war public school custom, a wishful turning back of an imaginary Edwardian clock?
Is this practice an integral part of the Advaita teaching? Can I justify that claim in any company?
The burden of proof is with us, not with society. Society couldn’t care less. It will go on ignoring /
shunning, send its children elsewhere and send St. James to the receivers.
We walk looking over our shoulders. We advertise pre-emptively to overcome the accusation of
secrecy. We make great sacrifices and efforts both mental (as in compiling careful, clever ads),
financial (as in continuing subsidies and gifts) . We require many of the teachers to live close to
the poverty line. All in mitigation of the underlying contradictions. We, the governors, the curious
Board of Management and the head teachers are reluctant to address these fundamentals.
We need to make the schools truly independent. Not tied by (we hope) invisible strings to an (at
best) odd and (at worst) disreputable organisation in the background.
There is a huge demand for good education out there in society. People will pay very fully for
what this costs. But they won’t queue up to come to St. James. We are offering a unique product
of variable quality in the wrong packaging.
Without a steady influx of pupils and input of funds we cannot improve our facilities and reach the
higher academic standards which we should. We will continue on a shoestring. Making do and
catering for a declining population of SES children.
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In the advertisement that went out after the purchase of Twickenham we said the St James
schools had “come of age”. If we mean this anything more than a PR puff we have to take some
bold decisions if the excellent product is to be palatable and therefore available to a wider
audience.
In the context of appealing to this audience the practices that need examination are referred to
throughout this report and need to he reviewed as a whole. They may be summarised as follows:
1. Let the schools be one centred and transparent in their organisation.
2. Have the confidence to let the St. James schools come of age by removing all the SES
controls and ties to make them truly independent.
3. Let them run their own foundation and initiation ceremonies in their own premises. No SES
involvement. No high-jacking of the meditation ceremony wording. Not secret. Open to parents.
4. Stop looking upon St. James pupils as graded according to spiritual merit and as prize fodder
for SES.
5. Remove all the old form masquerading as principle and let the Advaita message be simple and
whole without the formal and contradictory accretions.
6. Renounce both the “Christian gentleman” dream and the “Hindu sage” dream in favour of
Advaita itself. Sort out the muddle of Hindus and all the other non-Christians at St. James being
made to sing about “gazing in rapture upon his scars” whilst at the same time claiming to be truly
multi racial and multi-cultural and to teach Advaita, a true message beyond religions.
7. Let the teachers teach to 110% of their ability. No SES duties during term time.
8. Let the Governors govern and the parents see that truly this is the case. Require the teachers
(and the heads in particular) to refer to them and not to an SES ‘leader’ who has no locus and is
not accountable to the Governors or anyone else.
9. Stop operating on a wing and a prayer and introduce strong independent management into the
operation to make the whole operation professional and of consistently high quality.
10. Rectify the exploitation of teachers by a major review of each of their financial situations and
the implications thereof.
11. Make full, unqualified and generous links with the old boys and girls; recognise that they are
the lifeblood of an ongoing school. Drop ideas about the great majority not being “in SES” and not
having “earned” any contact.
12. Ban long skirts immediately.
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Historically we have grudgingly made slight concessions here and there to try to minimise change
whilst persuading ourselves that we have taken all necessary action. Always too little too late. It
will not be enough this time.
The Twickenham move is the opportunity that comes only once in each generation. Reform
needs to be across the board to keep the true and simple principles of Advaita in a form that is
acceptable and relevant to society today whilst clearing the decks of all the rest of the accretions.
Whilst it is understandable that everyone wants the best for the St. James pupils the unfolding of
their sanskara is an individual matter which must surely be respected also.
Samashti will certainly not entrust us with anything more than a parochial school for SES families
if we don’t relinquish these notions of controlling the outcome.
L. MacLaren always used to say (but not always do!): “The Saguna Brahman has been running
the universe for a week or two...let Him get on with it!”
The alternative approach is to soldier on until we go down with all guns blazing hoping against
hope the Cavalry will ride in with chequebooks drawn.
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Appendix 1.
Strengths and weaknesses of St. James education M. Goldschmied to W. Salisbur:y
19/11/93
Strengths:
1. Comprehensive / non-selective.
2. Good results if 1. above is taken into account.
3. Unusual curriculum (sanskrit I dance I music I singing).
4. Meditation.
5. Discipline I Law'n'order I Minimal bullying.
6. Caring staff / Happy atmosphere.
7. Strong and uncompromising in relation to drugs etc.
Weaknesses:
1. Comprehensive / non-selective.
2. Mediocre results compared to the best competition because of 1. above and 8 below.
3. Does not offer breaks at 8 and 13 in line with the competition.
4. Does not offer Common Entrance at 13 in line with the competition.
5. Expects parents of 4 year olds to commit to the "pause" and to other practices whose form
is alien I not understood.
6. Is smug about having the "truth" which no one else has.
7. Poor contact with Oxbridge does not tutor borderline entrants well.
8. Understaffed owing to SES commitments compared with competition from public schools.
9. Pretends to be a Victorian public school clone (caning I militarism I Royalty and Empire I
Establishment) when in truth it is opposed to much of what public schools stand for today. A
certain humbug.
10. Inherent strength and vitality of radical/revolutionary aspects of the schools played down in
favour of “conformist" image in 9. above.
11. Sanskrita comes across as a mission imbued with kashaya. Total turn-off for upper middle
class whites in Kensington / Victoria area. Its' strength as a universal language and key to
pronunciation / fluency in all other languages not mastered by teachers. Scholastic I
Grammarian aspects emphasised.
12. Schizophrenic in relation to the teaching of modern languages. Half-hearted attempts to
introduce first German and then French have been sporadic and at the expense of Latin.
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13. Some teachers not up to the job. Only there because in SES.
14. The sense of a "hidden hand" behind the scenes may be sensed and be a cause of
suspicion. Headmasters/headmistress not their own masters. Classic case Feb. 1993 of 6th
form boy intimate with St. James head girl (at week-ends) being suspended for 2 weeks (3
months before "A" Levels!) and having to wait to hear if he was to be expelled because
Head could not see LM. Head would not accept authority / advice of Board of Governors.
Boy & parents NOT in SES. Utterly unprofessional. Potentially explosive publicity.
15. Controlled use of cane marks the school out as regressive / blimpish.
16. Run on a shoestring but fees aren't cheap. Currently running at deficit of £38,000/term
owing to high proportion of bad debts/uneconomic class sizes.
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Appendix 2.
Transcript of two letters from M. Goldschmied to R. Pincham
8th February 1995 Strictly Private and Confidential
Dear Roger.
I am writing to you as agreed following our telephone conversation on Monday afternoon. I was
surprised to hear from Bernard Saunders that an announcement was made in the dining room
at Waterperry last Sunday to the effect that Laura Hyde was installed as headmistress of St.
James Girls School following the retirement of Sheila Caldwell at the end of the summer term.
As far as I am concerned it is a matter for the Governors to decide. I thought possibly that some
of the governors and you had met or been consulted but, from what you and Bernard told me,
this was not the case. Why, in any event, an announcement had to be made in such a hurry is a
mystery.
The double standard which has prevailed for so long seems set to continue: a respectable
conventional front of Governors appearing to go through executive motions like any other public
school whilst a hidden hand manipulates behind the scenes.
Naively we think no one “outside" notices or senses that this is so because it is unspoken. Yet the
truth is that communication in the subtle realm is far more penetrating. The general public is not
dumb or unconscious. The perception of a secret operation behind the scenes is a prime cause of
the general community shunning of St. James and treating it as alien from itself. It will only lead to
trouble if we continue the pretence, like the orange in HH analogy, with a smooth exterior and
divisions within.
Much is being made currently of the recent visit by Princess Alexandra to the Girls' school, and
the hope has been expressed in some quarters that this might result in HRH becoming a patron
of the school.
I am sure there is a very careful vetting process prior to such patronage being granted and here
again the secret manipulation may, when it emerges, put the schools' reputation at risk.
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When Mrs. Hyde was appointed assistant headmistress she was told quite unequivocally to, and I
quote: "get yourself qualified". To my knowledge she has not been able to do this yet (not
surprisingly given her young family and all the SES functions). I understand that now it is
proposed to overcome this lacuna through the appointment of a Directrice of Studies in the
person of Mrs. Valerie Rees.
This may or may not be a workable arrangement subject to the time they have available and their
ability to work together (two headstrong jewish ladies are not always the most sattvic
mixture!). If we, the Governors, are to be publicly accountable for the appointment, I am of the
view that, prior to any public announcement, we need to interview both candidates and satisfy
ourselves as to their suitability and their ability to commit the necessary time to the job.
Alternatively, I suggest you should step down as Chairman of the Board in favour of Mr Lambie.
Either approach could result in a straightforward and truthful representation.
Yours Sincerely,
Marco Goldschmied
and
17th February 1995
Dear Roger,
I was, to say the least, taken aback to receive a letter last Monday signed by you and sent to me
as a parent informing me that “…the Governors are delighted to announce the appointment of
Mrs Laura Hyde... etc.”.
If there was a meeting it certainly passed me by. If there was not I would like an explanation as to
how the Governors reached their decision.
Yours Sincerely
Marco Goldschmied.
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Appendix 3.
Memorandum to: St. James Governors, Headteachers, T. Graves.
From: M. Goldschmied
Date: 6/2/96
Re: Mr. Debenhams memo to T. Graves, Esq. of 16/1/96
The Economic lie that is "free fees".
The freedom is in the imparting of knowledge. There is no scriptural or valid economic doctrine
that espouses a "free" education. There is an emotional hypnotic allure to the clarion call of "free
fees for all". It is sadly misguided and is bound to fail. If nothing decisive and clear emerges from
the London school governors there will be sporadic uncoordinated attempts around the world to-
implement these insidious and unlawful socialist ideas of mitigation of poverty.
The attempts will simply result in a continued and gradually worsening situation for the teachers.
One in which economic uncertainty and near penury run side by side, impairing the quality of
teaching. The first 20 years of St. James have been heralded as a great achievement made
possible by the generosity of so many. The teachers are not often mentioned in this context but
the fact is that, with full fees, St. James has only just managed to break even due to the complete
generosity of teachers accepting a subsistence wage throughout this time.
If a true economic fee is to be arrived at then let us recognise the universal truth of the law of rent
coupled with the proper and full provision for teachers and their families and abide by the
resulting fee per child, be it higher, lower or the same as that which is charged now.
To do so we would need to recast all costs as follows:
Allow for the full rental value of all school premises and their maintenance.
Allow for the full rental value of all teachers homes and their maintenance.
Allow for all costs associated with the running of the schools including transport, insurance,
utilities, books and equipment, teacher training, catering, cleaning, medical etc.
Allow for all costs for adequate provision for all needs of teachers' and their families including full
pension and medical provisions.
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Allow for all other costs associated with the running of the schools.
Evaluate the notional tax and NI burden which the above provisions would make under present
taxation systems and take a view as to their inclusion in the "bottom line cost" in whole or in
part.
The figure that emerged from such a study would be both lawful and organic in the sense of
reflecting accurately current costs and tracking costs associated with future growth in pupil
numbers.
If benefactors appear to assist with this work, well and good. To seek to find one under the
banner of free fees would be fruitless. There will never be a benefactor wealthy enough to provide
education free of fees for all. Even the Government, having extorted vast sums from the working
population, cannot sustain this provision because it contradicts natural law. The only alternative
would be to provide free fee education for a few, selected on some notion of intellectual or
spiritual merit.
Where is Advaita in that?
The sooner we think and speak clearly on this issue the sooner the dangers and misery that will
arise from this muddled dogma can be eliminated.
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Appendix 4.
Symptoms
Usually such groups are predominantly white middle class with token people from other races;
special preparations and efforts are made to recruit wealthy, well-known, powerful, or influential
people; young people with little money are recruited for their free labour.
They consider their group to be the highest and only 'conscious' school .......... only they will
establish a new renaissance on earth.
They show a mix of friendliness, superiority, and a slight arrogance.
Use of the word “I" is often substituted with 'It' or 'This one'
A description of this multi-named group is available from:
• The Observer newspaper in England
• Secret Cult by Peter Hounam and Andrew Hogg
• The Secret World of Cults-Inside the Sects that Take Over Lives by Jean Richie
• Call No Man Master - Fifty Years of Spiritual Adventure, In Praise of Teachers but Wary of
Gurus by Joyce Collin-Smith.
Errors
There are characteristic errors on the way which people can make in work on themselves. It is
necessary to examine yourself regularly for the presence of any of these errors. When you find
you have strayed onto one of these false paths, remember yourself and how you fell subject to it,
correct the error to return to the way as soon as possible, and do your best to avoid it in future.
Some of these errors feed each other. They include: 'Sacred Science' Loading the Language Doctrine over Person Dispensing of Existence Talk-Think Intentional Insincerity/Heavenly Deception Starry-Eyed Student Form of the School Shiny New Mask
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Lunatic Super-effort and Competition Sunday-Go-to-Church Energy Junkie/Addict Perpetual Student False Awakening Personal Salvation/Cock-on-the-Dungheap Renaissance Ark Buy-Your-Way-to-Heaven
'Sacred Science':
Maintains an aura of sacredness around its basic dogma, holding it out as the ultimate moral
vision for the ordering of human existence; evident in the prohibition (explicit or implicit) against
the questioning of basic assumptions, in the reverence demanded for the originators of the
teaching, the present bearers of the teaching, and the teaching itself; while thus transcending
ordinary concerns of logic, however, it makes an exaggerated claim of airtight logic, of absolute
'scientific' precision.
Loading the Language:
Uses language characterised by the thought-terminating cliché the most far-reaching and
complex of human problems are compressed into brief, highly reductive, definitive-sounding
phrases, easily memorised and easily expressed (formatory phrases).
Doctrine over Person:
Subordination of human experience to the claims of doctrine, evident in the continual shift
between experience itself and the highly abstract interpretation of such experience, between
genuine feelings and a spurious cataloguing of feelings; produces a peculiar aura of half-reality in
the environment, at least to the outsider.
Dispensing of Existence:
Draws a sharp line between two groups: those whose right to existence can be recognised (e.g.
'school' people), and those who possess no such right (e.g. 'life' people); but declares that by
entering the thought reform environment, such 'life' people can make themselves over into
'school' people.
Talk-Think Error:
Talking and thinking about the work instead of doing it. Mistaking the use of a specialised
language for doing the work. Unable to explain work ideas in ordinary language.
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Intentional Insincerity/Heavenly Deception Error:
No compunction in deceiving people outside the group to attain the wants of the group, ultimately
deceiving oneself; will often think about or express ideas which have an element of truth in them,
but which when viewed on a larger scale are false.
Starry-eyed Student Error:
Fanatical devotion to, obedience to, or belief in a teacher or system to exclusion of all others.
Form of the School Error:
Forming a crystallized hierarchy based on elapsed time in the school and closeness to the
teacher rather than on personal level of being, and insisting that the 'form of the school' must be
maintained exactly as received.
Shiny New Mask Error:
Forming a shiny new mask containing habits of dress, speech, movement, thought, and so on, in
imitation of other members of the school or group and mistaking this for real inner development.
Lunatic Super-effort and Competition Error:
Belief that one must approach the Work with a grim determination which produces feelings
of tension, discomfort, self-punishment, and competition.
Sunday-Go-To-Church Error:
Habit of making efforts only when in the presence of a teacher or other members of school.
Energy Junkie Error:
Habit of coming to school to feed off the energy of the group without making personal efforts.
Perpetual Student Error:
Staying in a school or group for life without ever graduating.
False Awakening Error:
Delusion that 'Only I truly understand the teacher', or that 'Only I personally am', or 'only my
group or school is’, 'in contact with higher forces' or 'God'; this error occurs in several forms:
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Personal Salvation Error/Cock-on-the-Dungheap (subset of false awakening error):
Delusion that I personally will or can be saved, enter 'heaven', survive death, and so on.
Renaissance Ark (subset of false awakening error):
Delusion that my group is the:
• 'highest'
• 'only'
• 'true school'
• 'conscious school on Earth'
• 'conscious school since the time of Christ'
• 'true representatives or heirs of the work'
or that only my 'school':
• will survive a soon-to-come destruction of civilization
• has a divine mission to serve as an ark of culture and consciousness for humanity
• will survive to establish a new civilisation or renaissance on Earth
Buy Your Way to Heaven Error (subset of Renaissance Ark):
Acquiring or displaying pretty objects to 'improve the impressions octave' without
corresponding inner work.
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Appendix 5.
There appear to be a number of covert categories of St. James pupil. Covert inasmuch as they
are “hidden" in the minds of teachers, headteachers and senior SES personnel.
What makes the issue intractable is that almost all the people in authority in SES and St. James
would deny that any such classification exists. As matters stand St. James is much
closer to a sect than to the open and fully "independent" school that its name and prospectus
imply. This cannot be changed until all holders of the idea a) Acknowledge its existence and b)
Undergo a process of purification to remove the divisions that it causes.
The “ideal” St. James student.
Here, by way of not too serious illustration, are some of the criteria that make the ideal life of the
St. James product!
SES parents of at least 20 years standing. Father preferably on SES Executive.
St. James education from 4 years 4 months. Foundation group at 16.
Career at the Bar or as St. James teacher.
Betrothed to St. James girl at age 17 (when she is 11)
Marries the same St. James girl (now in Foundation group) as she finishes her “A” levels.
Children at St. James within seven years of marriage. Wife returns to full SES duties within 3
weeks of each childbirth.
Active SES members. (3 nights, 2 mornings and most weekends}.
Tutor of young St. James groups.
Blissfully married (although rarely meets wife due to SES commitments).
Selected for World Tour tutoring role by age 35.
Inherits large sum of money at age 40 from proceeds of grandfathers lifelong speculation on the
stockmarket and in land half of which he gives immediately to SES and St. James Vision fund.
Oldest son marries St. James girl who has just finished her "A” levels to whom he betrothed at
age 17 when she was 11.
Grandchildren at St. James within seven years of sons' marriage.
Daughter-in-law returns to full SES duties within 3 weeks of each childbirth.
All offspring active SES members. (3 nights, 2 mornings and most weekends).
Son appointed to tutor young St. James groups.
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Son blissfully married (although rarely meets wife due to SES commitments).
Son invited on World Tour tutoring role by age 35.
Inherits large sum of money at age 40 from proceeds of great uncles lifelong speculation on the
stockmarket and in land half of which he gives immediately to SES and St. James Vision fund.
Grandchild aged 17 betrothed to St. James girl aged 11 .... Dies peacefully in his sleep.
Family put his body in the Thame and have a party in the ballroom.
He emerges holding the ring!
Joking aside there do exist subtle gradations in status. Some actions appear to be beyond the
pale, others can allow the ex-St. James pupil to squeeze in.
Definite no-no’s ensuring "outcast” status are:
Not "going forward" for the Foundation ceremony.
Not attending SES before I during I after university.
Marrying "outside” the organisation.
Not marrying by age 25 (girls).
Putting career before home and home before SES (girls).
Some secondary causes of lower status include:
Getting divorced. (Some allowance made in special circumstances for unlucky choice of
recalcitrant first wives).
Parents not in SES.
Wife does not return to SES duties within 3 weeks of childbirth.
Not marrying by age 35 (boys).
Putting home before career and career before SES (boys).
Contents1. Introduction2. Background3. The Market4. The teachers.5. The Academic standard.6. The Governors and the SES7. Finance and management.8. Conclusions and recommendationsAppendix 1.Appendix 2.Appendix 3.Appendix 4.Appendix 5.